Transfer mechanism for a linecasting machine



March 13, 1962 P. HILPMAN ETAL 3,024,895

TRANSFER MECHANISM FOR A LINRCASTING MACHINE Filed sept. 29, 1958 inni-L NEW/M 447' ,5 INVENTOR.. 'lg' l PAUL HILPMAN 1 .BY WML/AMA. /v/m/vfSEJ/'- M ,f/ ym mw.

ATTRNE Y nite States arent hi Patented Mar. 13, 1962 hee 3,024,895 'ERANSFER MECHANISM FCR A LINECASTING MACHINE Paul Hilpman, Garden City, and William A. Milanese,

Jr., Huntington, N.Y., assignors to Mergenthaler Linotype Company, a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 29, 1958, Ser. No. 764,135 2 Claims. (Cl. 199-32) This invention relates to typographical composing machines, such as Linotype machines of the general organization represented in U.S. Letters Patent -to O. Mergenthaler, No. 436,532, wherein circulating matrices are released rom a magazine in the order in which their characters are to appear in print, then assembled in line, the composed line transferred to the face of a slotted mold, the mold filled with molten metal to form a typographical slug, and the matrices thereafter returned through distributing mechanism to the magazine from which they started.

In the machines, the composed line is delivered from the assembling elevator into the casting elevator by means of a horizontally movable carriage comprising a slide or body portion and a pair of line engaging fingers, one short and the other long. The short right-hand nger is fixed to the carriage slide, while the long left-hand finger is loosely mounted with reference thereto, the latter finger being ordinarily provided with a friction device which tends to hold it stationary. As the delivery carriage is thus constructed, the composed line is advanced to the left by the right-hand finger and in its advance picks up the left-hand finger and carries it along therewith, it being understood that the frictional resistance offered to the movement of the left-hand finger is overcome by the power applied (usually by a heavy spring) to operate the carriage. In the return movement of the carriage, the lefthand finger is restored to the right by the customary adjustable stop on the carriage slide which locates it at the proper distance from the right-hand finger.

The loose mounting of the left-hand finger is intended primarily to enable the delivery carriage to accommodate itself to short lines, that is to say, lines shorter than that for which the two lingers are adjusted. Thus, when a short line is delivered to the delivery carriage, the leading matrix of the line necessarily stands some distance away from the left-hand finger, but this distance is immediately taken up during the initial movement of the line delivery carriage, due to the fact that the left-hand finger is held at rest until picked up by the advancing line. In this way, the two lingers are caused to approach each other and confine the line between them, resulting in the separation of the abovementioned adjustable stop and the left-hand finger, reliance being placed upon the aforementioned friction device to maintain the fingers in this condition until the line is taken from the carriage by the casting elevator.

It has been found in practice that, notwithstanding the friction device carried thereby, the left-hand finger frequently becomes separated 'from the line before the latter leaves the delivery carriage, such separation being due for the most part to the jar developed fby the abrupt stoppage of the carriage which sometimes occurs during its line delivery movement. For example, there are times when a second line is delivered from the assembling elevator before the machine ,has completed its cycle of operation, and the delivery carriage under such conditions is abruptly stopped in a waiting position in the intermediate channel. As a result, the matrices become loose in the line (particularly those at the leading end) and oftentimes drop-out or else become so displaced as to interfere with the proper delivery of the line .to the casting and other devices, thereby causing damage to the parts and giving rise to other serious objections. Moreover, it may happen that the left-hand finger will be thrown into the path of the casting elevator as it descends from its upper transfer level to line receiving level, causing even greater damage to parts.

Heretofore, in order to prevent an abrupt stopping of the line delivery carriage in its wating position, a dash-pot has been employed, which resists the action of the spring which moves the line delivery carriage in its delivery stroke, by means of a compresesd air cushion. Modifications of the ordinary dash-pot have also been used; see, for example, U.S. Patent No. 2,019,856. Such mechanisms have never proved completely successful, however, since a time lag is involved before enough pressure is built up to provide an effective cushion, and thereafter, the pressure builds up so rapidly that the dash-pot itself causes a shock which is transmitted to the carriage. These defects have become more serious with the recent increase in machine operating speed.

The present invention is intended to overcome the foregoing objections by providing a means for smoothly resisting the action of the carriage actuating spring. Toward this end, a constant retarding force is applied to the moving carriage before it reaches the waiting position.

The invention will now be more fuily .described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FG. l is a front elevational view of a portion of a Linotype machine equipped with the present improvement;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of a proportion of FIG. l showing the line delivery carriage; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

As is well known, and for that reason not fully shown in lthe drawings, matrices are selectively released from a magazine by operation of a keyboard and delivered to an assembling elevator wherein they are composed in line together with eXpansible spacebands. After composition, the assembling elevator is raised to introduce the line between two iingers lt and 11 which depend from a slide member 12 and together therewithcomprise a line delivery carriage. The member 12 is ltorizontally slida-ble `in a guideway 13, thus enabling the carriage to deliver the composed line toward the left into a casting elevator (not shown) which thereupon descends to present the line to the slug casting mold. The right-hand line engaging linger 10' is rigidly secured to the slide member 12, whereas the left-hand finger 11 is loosely mounted with reference thereto, being mounted on a block 1,4 which is also slidablein the guideway 13. The setting of the finger 11 with respect to the finger 10 is determined by an adjustable stop 15, carried by the slide, which is adapted to abut against the block I4 when the delivery carriage is in its line receiving position (the position shown in FIG. l).

When the assembling elevator reaches its uppermost position in the course of introducing the composed line betweenthe fingers 10 and y11 of the line delivery carriage,.it trips a catch to release the carriage thus permitting the latter to convey the line into the `casting elevator. The line delivery carriage is actuated by a delivery lever .16 through a delivery lever link 17, which is pivotally joined to the lever at 18. The delivery lever 16 is mounted on a rock shaft 20, the power for rocking which is ordinarily supplied by a strong tension spring 21 connected to a lever 22 which is also mounted onthe shaft 2G. In addition, the rock shaft Ztl carries a lever 23 having a roller 24 at the 'free end thereof, which roller is engageable with a three-level cam 2S mounted on the main camshaft 26 of the machine.

When theline delivery carriage is released by the assembling elevator, as mentioned above, and the spring 2.1 is permitted to act, the lever 23 is pivoted bringing roller 24 into proximity with the lowest level of the cam 25,

indicated by the position 24a of the roller in FIG. l, at which time, of course, the carriage will be in its extreme leftward or delivery position. It will be noticed, furthermore, that in position 2da, the roller is adapted to strike a pawl 29, carried by the cam 25, and in so doing push the pawl off abutment 30, thus initiating the automatic operation of the machine. As the camshaft 26 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. l, the roller 24 climbs to the highest level of the cam 25, thereby eecting the return of the delivery carriage to its line receiving position. On occasion it happens that the line delivery carriage is released for movement and does move toward its delivery position before the previous machine cycle has been completed, in which case the cam 25 will not be disposed in its normal orientation when the roller cornes into contact therewith and, therefore, rather than striking the pawl 29, the roller will strike another portion of the cam, perhaps a point on the medial level 25a thereof, and will thus be stopped in the dwell position Zeb. As a result, of course, the line delivery carriage will be arrested in an intermediate waiting position in the guideway i3, where it remains until the roller 24, following the contour of the edge of the rotating cam 25, ar-rives at the lowest level thereof, thereby allowing the carriage to reach its delivery position. The pawl 29 is thereupon vbrought into position to be acted upon by the roller 24,

and the machine continues into the next cycle without interruption.

Throughout its leftward movement, the line delivery carriage is under the control of a dashpot 31, whose plunger 35 (see FIG. 3) which is connected to the lever .32 of rock shaft 2li by connecting rod 36, conventionally creates a compressed air cushion as the plunger moves through the cylinder 33. It is to the action of the dashpot that the present improvement is directed.

The foregoing description of parts and operation is of course well known to those familiar with the Linotype art. In addition, it will be noted that when a composed line is brought into line delivery position and the delivery slide carriage is released, the left-hand finger 11 remains at -rest until the forward end of the line is carried against it by the advance of the right-hand finger (compare FIGS. 1 and 2) and, consequently, the linger y11 is carried along by the composed line until the carriage reaches its final position of delivery, where it is arrested by an abutment on the machine frame. If, as shown in FIG. 2, the line forwarded'is shorter than the original distance between the two lingers, the left-hand finger 11 will stand out of engagement with the adjustable stop 15 at the time of arrest of the carriage in either the waiting position or the delivery position and, since the finger 11 is thus unsupported at its leading edge, it has a tendency to jump or rebound away from the line when the carriage is arrested. Furthermore7 even with the above mentioned dash-pot to steady the movement of the carriage, the jar developed by the abrupt stoppage of the carriage in its waiting position is severe enough to effect this jumping of the finger and give rise to the objections previously noted because, firstly, the compression of air in the dashpot is less during the initial movement of the dash-pot plunger than as it approaches the end of its stroke, hence the compressed air cushion created before the carriage reaches its waiting position is inadequate to reduce the carriage speed sufficiently and, secondly, when an attempt is made to overcome this deficiency by inducing an additional momentary pressure rise immediately before the carriage reaches its waiting position, this modification itself transmits a jolt to the line delivery carriage.

According to the present invention, therefore, the operation of the dash-pot has been modified so that it ofers a constant resisting force, to the action of spring 21, from the moment the line delivery carriage leaves its line receiving position to the moment it is arrested in the waiting position. The possibility of the carriage being jolted by a sudden increase in pressure within the dashpot is thereby eliminated, and the resisting force may be adjusted to maintain the speed of the carriage low enough to prevent severe shock thereto when it is arrested in the waiting position.

In the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings, the dash-pot cylinder 33 is furnished with two apertures 41 and 42 which, as may be seen in FIG. 3, are disposed at the top of the cylinder and intermediate the ends of the cylinder respectively. The cylinder head 38 is provided with a port 39, through which air is taken into and exhausted from the cylinder, and an adjustable cap 43 is associated therewith to more or less obstruct the port as desired and vary the flow therethrough. A cover 40, closing the upper end of the cylinder 33, keeps dust and dirt out of the cylinder and, in addition, serves as a bearing for the reciprocating connecting 4rod 36. The connecting rod 36, of course, does not move in a straight line, as viewed in FIG. l, inasmuch as the lever 32 to which it is fastened has an arcuate path of travel, so, for this reason the cylinder 33 is pivotally mounted on the machine frame by means of a lug 34, thus allowing the cylinder to rock as the plunger moves back and forth therein.

In operation, when the line delivery carriage is in its line receiving position (FIG. l) the plunger 35 occupies its lowermost position (FIG. 3). When the delivery carriage is released by the upward movement of the assembling elevator lin delivering the composed line between the lingers 10 and 4lll, and spring 21 moves the carriage to the left, the plunger 55 is pulled upward producing a partial vacuum in the portion of the cylinder 33 below the plunger thus resisting the action of the spring Z1 so that the carriage moves only as fast as air is inducted into the cylinder. As the plunger moves upwardly it naturally has a tendency to compress the air above it, but the buildup of pressure in this manner is completely avoided by making the aperture 41 large enough to allow the air above the plunger to escape freely. Note, therefore, that with the present means of resisting the action of spring 21, there is no time lag i involved while pressure builds up to effective magnitude, but rather, due to the suction principle employed, the desired retarding force is produced as soon as the parts begin to move, and the force remains constant until the parts are arrested in the waiting position. At this point,

ie., roller 24 inposition 24b, the plunger 35 is so disposed that its lower surface 35a is just below the aperture 42, and upon further movement of the delivery carriage toward delivery position, the plunger moves above the aperture, thereby increasing the volume of air being inducted into the cylinder, whereupon the carriage moves more rapidly. In this way, the average speed of the line delivery operation is raised above the maximum speed of the carriage lduring the most critical period, i.e., before it reaches the waiting position.

The volume of air inducted through the port 39 in the cylinder head 38 may be regulated by the cap 43 and in this way any desired constant resistance may be obtained whereby the carriage speed is kept low enough to prevent its being jarred when stopped in the waiting position and, in addition, no sudden pressure rise can develop to jar the carriage.

The invention has been shown and described in preferred form only and by way of example, and many variations and modifications may be made therein and in its mode of application which will still be comprised within its spirit. It is understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited toV any specific form or embodiment, except insofar as such limitations rare specified in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A typographical composing machine having line delivery carriage means for delivering a composed line from a receiving position to a delivery position, spring means for biasing said carriage meansY to said delivery poannesse sition, means for arresting said carriage in a Waiting line position intermediate the line receiving and delivery positons if the preceding machine cycle has not been completed, and dashpot means for resisting the action of said spring means, characterized in that said dashpot is adapted to provide a constant force resisting the action of said spring as the carriage moves to the Waiting line position and a reduced constant force as the carriage moves from the Waiting line to the delivery position and comprises a cylinder and a plunger disposed tlierewithin, said cylinder having an adjustable induction port adjacent one end thereof through which said plunger inducts air at a constant rate throughout the transfer of the carriage, a second induction port positioned so that when the carriage is held in the Waiting line position the plunger just covers said second induction port and when the carriage resumes movement from the Waiting line position toward the delivery position the plunger immediately uncovers said second port through which said plunger inducts air at a constant rate Whiie said carriage travels from said Waiting line position to said delivery position, and an exhaust opening adjacent the other end of said cylinder through which said plunger exhausts air throughout the transfer of said carriage at a rate fast enough to prevent any buildup of pressure Within said cylinder.

2. A typographical composing machine having line delivery carriage means for delivering a composed line from a line receiving position to a delivery position, spring means for biasing said carriage means to said delivery position, means for arresting said carriage in a waiting line position intermediate the line receiving and delivery positions if the preceding machine cycle has not been completed, and dashpot means for resisting the action of said spring means, characterized in that said dashpot comprises a cylinder having an adjustable air induction port at one end thereof, a second air induction port positioned so that when the carriage is held in the waiting line position the plunger just covers said second induction port and when the carriage resumes movement from the Waiting line position toward the delivery position the plunger irnmediately uncovers said second port, and an air exhaust port at its other end, and a plunger disposed Within said cylinder between said induction ports, said plunger adapted to be moved away from said first induction port and toward said second induction port while said carriage travels from said receiving position to said Waiting line position, and said plunger adapted to he moved away from both of said induction ports and toward said exhaust port while said carriage moves from said waiting line position to said delivery position whereby said dash pot offers a constant resisting torce while said carriage travels from said receiving position to said Waiting line position and said dash pot offers a reduced constant resisting force While said carriage travels from said Waiting line position to said delivery position.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 393,690 Cite Nov. 29, 1888 1,154,996 Mame sept. 2s, 1915 1,597,768 COX Aug. 31, 1926 2,019,856 Hilpman Nov. 5, 1935 2,852,131 Hiipman sept. 16, 195s 

